Circle 16 Playhouse

Circle 16 Playhouse was a short-lived troupe that made its debut in the 1960s and, for a time, performed at the Town & Country Shopping Center.

It opened the Town and Country site on July 11, 1973, with a pair of one-acts, Aria da Capo, by Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Hello Out There, by William Saroyan. The plays were directed by Larry Liff, one of the decade’s busiest stage helmers, and featured Peggy Thurston, Dennis Turner, Bob Wilson, Jim Matz, folk singer Gary Burleson, Eleanor Prickett, Carolyn Kelton and Art Sanders in the casts. Carol Norton and Ms. Kelton were stage managers. The one-acts were staged in the round, featuring cut-out scenery. The run was publicized as being presented in a “refrigerated” theater, rather important during a Phoenix summer.

Another hit for the company was the comedy, Two for the Seesaw. It starred Burke Rhind, one of the era’s most popular actors.